The invention relates to a method for fabricating a storage capacitor, for example a semiconductor component, such as a DRAM or FRAM memory cell.
The present invention thus relates to the field of fabricating semiconductor memory components in microelectronics.
DE 198 40 824 C1 discloses a fabric(ation method for a ferroelectric transistor, in which a ferroelectric layer is applied to a CeO2 layer having a thickness of 5-10 nm using a CVD processor and is heat treated at 700xc2x0 C., in order to transfer is to the desired ferroelectric phase.
DE 198 29 300 A1 discloses a ferroelectric memory device having an electrical connection between a bottom capacitor electrode and a contact plug, and also a corresponding fabrication method.
EF 088 631 782 discloses a dielectric memory apparatus having a ferroelectric dielectric.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,955,755 discloses a semiconductor memory apparatus and a corresponding fabrication method, in which a silicon oxide film, an oriented paraelectric oxide film and an oriented ferrcelectric film are laminated onto a monocrystalline silicon substrate.
The dynamic semiconductor memory components (DRAMs or FRAMS) fabricated in microelectronics essentially comprise a selection or switching transistor and a storage capacitor, in which a dielectric material is inserted between two capacitor plates. The dielectric used is usually oxide or nitride layers in the main, which have a dielectric constant of a maximum of approximately 8. To reduce the size of the storage capacitor and to fabricate nonvolatile memories, xe2x80x9cnovelxe2x80x9d capacitor materials are required, such as ferroelectric or paraelectric materials having significantly higher dielectric constants. A few of these materials are cited in the publication xe2x80x9cNeue Dielektrika fur Gbit-Speicherchipsxe2x80x9d [New Dielectrics for Gbit Memory Chips] by W. Hxc3x6rlein, Phys. B1. 55 (1999). For fabricating ferroeleclric capacitors for applications in such nonvolatile semiconductor memory components with a high integration density, it is possible to use, by way of example, ferroelectric materials, such as SrBi2 (Ta, Nb)2C9 (SBT or SBTN), Pb (Zr, Ti)O3 (PZT) or Bi4Ti3O12 (BTO) as the dielectric between the capacitor plates. Alternatively, a paraelectric material, such as (Basr) TiO3 (BST), can be used.
The use of these novel ferroelectric or paraelectric dielectrics presents new challenges to semiconductor process technology, however. Specifically, these novel materials can first no longer be combined with the traditional electrode material polysilicon. It is therefore necessary to use inert electrode materials, such as noble metals, i.e. Pt, Pd, Ir, Rh, Ru or Os, or their conductive oxides (e.g. RuO2). It is also possible to use generally conductive oxides, such as LasrCoOx or SrRuO3. The reason for this is that, once the ferroeleclric dielectric has been deposited, it needs to be heat treated (xe2x80x9cconditionedxe2x80x9d) in an oxygen-containing atmosphere at temperatures of approximately 550-800xc2x0 C., if appropriate a number of times. To prevent undesirable chemical reactions between the ferroelectric dielectric and the electrodes, the electrodes are therefore mostly made of platinum or another sufficiently temperature-stable and inert material, such as another noble meatal or a conductive oxide.
Ferroelectric memory components integrate the capacitor module, comprising a first, bottom electrode, the ferroeleclric or paraelectric layer and a second, top electrode, either in the form of a xe2x80x9cstacked capacitorxe2x80x9d or in the form of an xe2x80x9coffset capacitorxe2x80x9d. In the case of the xe2x80x9cstacked capacitorxe2x80x9d design, the bottom electrode is connected to the source region or drain region of the associated selection transistor by means of a metalization plug through an insulation layer. By contrast, in the case of the xe2x80x9coffset capacitorxe2x80x9d design, the top electrode is connected to the drain region of the associated selection transistor by means of the first metalization plane (using a metal tie) and a metalization plug passing through two insulation layers.
The xe2x80x9coffset capacitorxe2x80x9d design is the technologically simpler design, since the electrical connection is made after fabrication of the capacitor, and hence does not have to withstand the temperature load which arises in the course of this. However, this variant has the associated disadvantage that it takes up a relatively large amount of surface area, since transistor and capacitor need to be arranged next to one another.
In the case of the xe2x80x9cstacked capacitorxe2x80x9d design, a smaller amount of surface area is required. With this variant, however, the metal plug connecting an electrode of the capacitor to the source or drain has to withstand all the annealing steps which are required for the capacitor without becoming noticeably oxidized in the process. If it becomes so heavily oxidized that there is no longer a conductive connection between the transistor and the capacitor, this causes the cell to fail.
To avoid the problem of oxidation, new barriers are being developed, in the first instance, which resist a high temperature load of 700xc2x0 C., and moreover in an oxygen atmosphere. In the second instance, attempts are being made to reduce the temperature load required for setting the desired ferroelectric properties, e.g. by purposefully setting a particular stoichiometry for the ferroelectric layer.
In order to crystallize SrBi2Ta2O9 (SBT) deposited on platinum in the ferroelectric Aurivillius phase, temperatures of approx. 680xc2x0 C. are required for SBT layers having a thickness of 180 nm. At this temperature, it is already very difficult to make contact between the capacitor and the transistor such that said contact is not oxidized during heat treatment of the ferroelectric layer in O2, which lasts one hour on average. Opportunities are therefore being sought to lower the process temperature while retaining the same quality for the ferroelectric layer.
Accordingly, the invention is based on the object of specifying a layer structure having a ferroelectric layer and a method for fabrication thereof and having a ferroelectric layer as a dielectric in which the temperatures used in the fabrication steps, particularly for heat treating or conditioning the ferroelectric layer, can be lowered while retaining the same quality for the the ferroelectric layer.
This object is achieved by the features of the subject matter of claim 1.
The SBT layer or SBTN layer is thus essentially deposited in the form of an amorphous layer, and, after the deposition, a temperature treatment step is carried out in which the amorphous layer crystallizes.
An investigation of the crystallization temperature of SrBi2Ta2O9 (SBT) on CeO2 for fabricating ferroelectric transistors revealed that SBT on CeO2 actually starts to develop the ferroelectric Aurivillius phase at approx. 590xc2x0 C.-620xc2x0 C. The process temperature for crystallization can thus be lowered by approx. 60xc2x0 C.-90xc2x0 C. as compared with SBT deposited directly on platinum.
The method according to the invention can be used to fabricate a storage capacitor, where a first electrode layer is provided as substrate, a very thin CeO2 layer is deposited on the first electrode layer, the SBT layer is then applied to the CeO2 layer and is recrystallized by the temperature treatment step, and finally a second electrode layer is deposited onto the SBT layer.
The electrode layers can be made from a noble metal, in particular platinum, from a conductive oxide of a noble metal or from another conductive and inert oxide.